Reon Dawson clears the air.

I know this was discussed again yesterday as Mike McCray gave some comments on what Dawson said on signing day, but here are some direct quotes from Reon himself. At some point he has felt like he has let Michigan fans down by saying what he said, so sometimes it's important to realize they are just kids, and maybe he just mis-spoke.

"It was just a comment about being from the state of Ohio, not anything about Ohio State at all," Dawson stated. "Ohio State never even offered me a scholarship at all, so how could I be loyal to the school? What I meant was I'm proud of my state, and my family being from here, and I don't even know why I said that really. I was just happy to be headed to college and my family was so proud, that I never meant any reference to Ohio State."

"I feel terrible that some Michigan fans are mad at me, and I'm so grateful to the school for the opportunity they're giving me," he added. "I'm going to be a Michigan Man for life, and that's the next chapter of my life. I signed with Michigan because I loved everything about it and I switched from Illinois because of Coach (Brady) Hoke and his coaching staff."

"I can't wait to be apart of the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry, and I'm looking forward to beating them four straight years," he continued. "I talked to Mike McCray today about this, and he knows what I meant. We have been teammates here at Trotwood, and he was a big part of me going to Michigan, so he knows I'm a respectful person that never looks to say anything hurtful to anyone. I feel really bad how this came out, and I just want the Michigan fans to know I love being apart of Wolverine Nation and I'm going to do everything I can to make them proud of me."

If you could care less about his Buckeye snuggie and Brutus stuffed animals then I want to know how much we're talking.

Edit: I actually disagree with your post. People are intitled to their opinions, but if they're being assholes and sending him messages then it shows that this football thing is way too important to them. It's probably time to find a new hobby when you're a grown ass man and you're sending a high schooler hate filled messages. Anyway, what if some of those messages are coming from Michigan fans who are in high school. I say bring on the vitriol. Who better than your peers to degrade you and the comments you made?

It will work itself out. If the kid works hard and buys into Michigan's program, it will all work out and he'll be a Michigan Man. If he slacks off because he truly doesn't buy into what the Michigan program stands for, then he'll ride the bench for four years and say sayonara.

It's not about who he is now. It's about who he will be in four years.

My heart dropped a little when I saw this thread. Honestly it sucks that what should be one of the happiest, most important times of his life is partially ruined by a dumb comment and douchebag fans. It makes me embarrassed to be a part of the same fanbase as some of the clowns who make twitter comments or whatever that caused him to do this.
Honestly when is it going to become socially taboo for people to say cruel shit to one another in anonymous or semi-anonymous forums online? I think as a society people need to decide that acting like bullies online, even when it's anonymous (especially when it's anonymous?) just shouldn't be socially acceptable.

This is disrespectful, this makes it better, etc,. He is a high schooler that hasn't played a snap with a shit ton of local media pressure. Leave the fu$king kid alone. Nobody gives a shit how a fan feels about this kids slip up, except the kid. Let the boy breathe, and play. Once he starts kicking ass the same people will be on his nuts. Good luck son!

Unortunately, they remind me a lot of the devisive RR days. Most of us here embraced the Hoke hire because of its unifying effect on the Team and fanbase. I honestly wonder what Bo would say about the situation; I suspect something about "The Team."

Give the kid a break, he is just being an 18yr old, and so what if he likes Ohio, give him a year around Hoke and the team, and will see what happens then..he will prolly never go back to that shitty state lol

But true. Michigan fans aren't better. I would say Michigan fans just think they are better. I often find myself embarrassed by Michigan fans because they take sports too serious. Sports are a pleasant distraction from life. They spend too much time trying to prove they are better then"insert teams fan base" much like race both have good and bad. Michigan isn't immune to the d-bags

I think he was misquoted. He said he loves the state of ohio and it got reported as loving ohio state. But it really doesn't matter. A teenager shouldn't have to feel bad for saying he loves something. Even if that thing is OSU. It's ludicrous reading this statement from a kid apologizing from the bottom of his heart because his love hurt our feelings.

The kid's not even a freshmen yet; it's ridiculous that fans are holding his feet over the coals for a misquote, or even for a misstep in communication on his part if thats what happened. But questioning his loyalty to the team, such that he feels the need to say this? Awful. He signed his LOI with us, and he was obviously seen to enough of a Michigan Man by coach Hoke to get that scholarship, and that should be enough to satisfy all of us.

The M Block also talked to Reon today. Here's some further stuff from him:

Basically we were just talking a lot and I said a lot of stuff including some things that I shouldn't of said in a way I shouldn't have said it. I talked to Mr. Fogle, our athletic director and he used to be a broadcaster so he knows how it works, he knew the reporter who interviewed me and it was all just really out of context. I didn't know what we were talking about would even be in his news segment. First of all, I don't like attention, I'm like a humble guy and I don't talk a lot. All of my teammates will tell you that I don't talk much so I really don't know what all this is, at the end of the day I just want to play football. It is something I have to live with because I said it. I really wasn't even talking about Ohio State, I was talking about the state of Ohio.

I really feel bad for him. What is funny to me is why people here believe someone from Ohio, who probably dislikes Michigan, over a guy and his best friend who are coming to Michigan. That makes a lot of sense to me. Why does the reporter automatically get a pass here?

I feel bad for that kid and I would never associate myself with anyone that results to insulting a kid on twitter or facebook. I think it is very immature and I find it embarrassing that there are actually michigan fans that do this.

Reon, if you read this blog just know that 99% of the Michigan fans are great people that are excited at the possibilities that your unique size and speed could bring to the CB position at Michigan. If anything use the stupidity of the few Michigan fans that said things they shouldn't have as motivation to become the best CB you can be (and especially better than your former teammate Cam)!

I grew up in California yet attended UofM. I know what it's like to "turn on your school(s)" in the eyes of the locals. Sure, I was not a D1 athlete (therefore I give Reon a lot of credit), but I went against the grain to travel to Ann Arbor for school. I am proud to be a Michigan Man, and so should Reon be. I give him the utmost respect for not only being proud of where he came from but also for reaffirming his commitment to the school where he'll play some awesome football. Michigan fans; be proud!